Reading the Last Olympian
by AgentAwesomeishere
Summary: Percy, Thalia, and Nico travel back in time to read a book, with the past head counslers, Chiron, and Dionysus.  Happens after the second Titan War and The Last Olympian.
1. Traveling back

**A/N I don't own Percy Jackson**

**This happens right after the Titans Curse!**

**Thank you my best and amazing friend Agent LKT for helping me come up with this idea!**

**Percy POV**

I sighed, the Titan war was finally over, I just went to the beach with my girlfriend the one and only Annabeth Chase. I still couldn't believe we were together…

Anyway I was now on my way to my cabin for a good night sleep. I haven't had a good sleep in two weeks and I really needed some shut eye.

"What the-"

**Thalia POV**

"Good job Phobe!" I said smiling.

"We sure showed those hellhounds!" Phobe smiled, "They were probably wishing they never reformed!"

I laughed.

"Thalia something is-"

"What in the Hades!" I yelled as a blue light surrounded me.

**Nico POV**

_Of course my wonderful step mom finds a way to blame everything on yours truly._

I ran my hands through my hair, "I hate you Persephone."

I went over to my bed and sighed rolling the Hades Mytho-Magic figurine through my hands.

Then I was surrounded with a black light.

**Percy POV**

"!" I screamed. I know what you're thinking how manly, but if you were falling into what looked like a bottomless pit what would you do?

"PERCY QUIT SCREAMING!"

"Nico what are you doing here?"

"Falling what does it look like?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Even in a situation like this you two are fighting!" a new voice yelled.

"Thalia!" Nico and I screamed.

"Jinx!" we yelled at the same time.

"I said it first!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did-"

"Guys can we please fight later and try to get us out of this situation of falling a thousand feet to our doom?"

"Good idea!" I yelled.

"So what's the plan?" Nico yelled.

"Okay when we fall we place Percy on the bottom since he's invulnerable!" Thalia explained.

"Good idea… HEY!" I screamed, you thought your cousins were evil.

"Guys! Guys! I see light!" Nico screamed.

"Hurry get on Percy!"

"WHAT NO DO-! UMMMFFFF!"

**Annabeth POV**

I was finally at camp my home… I was going to San Francisco to be with my dad…

Percy saved me. I think I may like him, I've even dropped hints, but he was just so… clueless.

I sighed _That Seaweed Brain…_

"Hey Annabeth!"

Speaking of the devil.

"Hey Seaweed Brain."

"Let's-"

"Guys! Guys! I see light!" I blinked.

What?

"Hurry put Percy on the bottom!"

I looked up and falling from what looked like a black hole were three teenagers were falling.

I skillfully stepped out of the way.

"WHAT NO DO-! UMMMFFFF!"

I blinked as the dust cleared in the middle of the camp was three teenagers, two boys and one girl.

I saw Seaweed Brain eye them warily pulling out Riptide.

"OUUUCCCHHHH!" the boy on the top of the pile said.

"Shut up Nico! You're not the one on the bottom!"

I saw Chiron trot over and eye the new comers warily. Behind him was pretty much the rest of Camp Halfblood.

"Who are you?" my second father questioned.

"Whaa?" The teen on the bottom said looking up, "Oh Hades."

The boy on the top got off the girl, "Err… Hi."

The girl got up and I blinked she looked exactly like Thalia. I already missed her, she's now out on adventures with the hunters.

Finally the one on the bottom got up. He looked about 16 he had deep sea green eyes, and a light tan. He had unruly black hair and overall was pretty cute.

"Ummm. Hi we are from- HEY!"

A saw a book land on the green eyed boy's head.

The boy and girl cracked up.

"Shut up!" I watched him grab the book, his eyes widened.

"Again who are you?" Chiron asked smiling a bit at their childish behavior.

The teen simply handed Chiron the book and what appeared to be a note attached to it.

I watched as Chirons eyes widen then pale a bit.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Read it aloud my dear." Chiron told me handing me the note.

I took the note.

_Dear Demi-gods, and Chiron,_

_I the great Apollo have sent these three to read about the future with you for my amusement._

Everyones eye twitched.

_Make sure all the head councilors attend to read these books. This book is in Percy's point of view. This is about the upcoming Titan War .And please don't be too shocked when the demi-gods introduce themselves._

_ENJOY_

Everyone sweat dropped

_With Awesomeness, _

_The great, awesome, amazing, wonderful, fantastic, and extremely handsome sun god _

_Apollo._

"Umm… Ok." Percy said uneasily.

"Alright head councilors to the Big House!" Chiron yelled.

**Still Annabeths POV**

Everyone filed uneasily into the Big House.

"Alright demi-gods." Chiron said, "Introduce yourselves."

The newcomers looked a bit uneasy, but the one with pale skin and black hair and eyes finally said, "I'm Nico di'Angelo."

"Nico!" Seaweed brain yelled. "Your alive, I'm so sorry man, and-"

"I understand now." Nico said.

"I'm Thalia Grace." Thalia interrupted trying to lessen the tension.

Nobody looked surprised, because Thalia's appearance wouldn't have changed with the hunters.

Finally it was the green eyed boys turn, "I'm Percy Jackson."

**A/N Sooo….. I hope you liked it more coming soon I hope…**

**Please review and tell me if you want me to continue. I need at least five reviews. **


	2. I Go Cruising With Explosives

**A/N I don't own Percy Jackson**

**This happens right after the Titans Curse!**

**Thanks for all those reviews and favorites!**

* * *

><p><strong>Annabeth Pov<strong>

Silence greeted his statement.

I watched as older Percy (I'm going to call him PJO Percy), shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Alright campers." Chiron said, "Introduce yourselves."

"I'm Percy Jackson, errr… Junior." Seaweed brain said.

Older (PJO) Percy smiled.

"I'm Clarisse LaRue, Good to see you Prissy."

PJO Percy glared at her halfheartedly.

"We are Travis and Connor Stoll!"

I held back a laugh when I watched Nico reach for his back pocket.

"I'm Silena Beauregard."

The future demi-gods shifted warily.

"I'm Charles Bekandorf."

PJO Percy smiled sadly.

"Lee Fletcher." Lee said with his usual smirk.

"I'm Katie Gardner."

"I'm Pollux"

I saw the future demi-gods eyes fill with sadness.

_What happened…._

I cleared my throat then said, "I'm Annabeth Chase."

I saw Older Seaweed Brain smile a bit.

"Alright brats," I'll let you guess who that is. "Let's read."

"Since this is Percy's book I think it's fitting for um… both of the Percy's read." Chiron said.

"Okay," I watched as the older Percy took the book. "So since I'm older I'll do the honors."

* * *

><p><strong>No one's POV<strong>

**"I Go Cruising with Explosives," **PJO Percy read then winced.

**The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car.**

"Wait I just realized something!" Nico laughed.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"This book is in Percy's point of view."

"… Excellent!" Thalia laughed evilly. "Sooo much blackmail!"

PJO Percy and Percy looked at each other in horror.

Then PJO Percy started to read.

**Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin.**

"So I'm guessing mom and Paul are married now." Percy stated.

"Almost."

"I hope you get into a crash." Dionysus said, "That's one less brat."

"That's a bit irresponsible isn't it?" Katie asked ignoring Dionysus.

**Now, I know you're thinking, Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah,**

Travis and Connor burst out laughing.

"SHUT UP!"

**but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.**

"You are so dramatic." Thalia laughed.

"And you're not?"

"Touché."

Lee smiled it was nice to know some people never changed.

**Anyway, Rachel **

"Who's Rachel?" Annabeth asked.

"Erm… You'll find out later." PJO Percy mumbled.

**and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachmas.**

Annabeth's jaw clenched.

"So much blackmail." Nico whispered to Thalia.

Travis and Connor looked at each other grinning.

**"Oh, pull up right there!" she told me.**

**We parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice-glittery green and smooth as glass, as though my dad was keeping it calm just for us.**

"I'm sure your dad has some more important things to do." Thalia said.

**My dad, by the way, is Poseidon. **

"Really?" Nico said sarcastically, "could've fooled me."

"My cousins just love me." PJO and Percy said in unison.

"Creepy…"

**He can do stuff like that.**

**"So." Rachel smiled at me. "About that invitation."**

**"Oh . . . right." I tried to sound excited. I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house on St. Thomas for three days. **

"Whoa." Percy said.

"You should be preparing for war, not some vacation." Annabeth said icily.

Percy looked at her confused, "Why are you acting, so weird?"

PJO Percy smiled internally, he had really been clueless.

**I didn't get a lot of offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let me tag along to the Caribbean.**

"I wish I could go to the Caribbean." Silena sighed.

**Besides, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting.**

"Sorry my boy, but that can't happen." Chiron chuckled.

**Still, something big was supposed to go down any day now. I was "on call" for a mission. Even worse, next week was my birthday. There was this prophecy that said when I turned sixteen, bad things would happen.**

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably.

**"Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But it's always bad for you, right?"**

"She has a point." Pollux said.

**She had a point.**

Dionysus looked at Pollux in horror then said. "Pollux thinks like Perry!"

Pollux wasBlushed while the demi-gods snickered..

**"I really want to go," I promised. "It's just-"**

**"The war."**

"The warrr." Travis said dramatically.

**I nodded. I didn't like talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the Mist-the magic veil that distorts human vision. She'd seen monsters. She'd met some of the other demigods who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

"She totally has my respect too!" Travis laughed.

**She put her hand on my arm. "Just think about it, okay? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad . . ." Her voice faltered.**

Annabeth couldn't help but soften her gaze a bit. She too had some dad problems.

**"Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked.**

**Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be nice to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy this fall."**

"Where's that?" Percy asked.

"Maybe if you would be quiet we would find out." Clarisse growled.

**"The school where your mom went?"**

**"It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in finishing school?"**

"See the book tells you." Clarisse said.

Percy made a face.

**I admitted the idea sounded pretty dumb. Rachel was into urban art projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-bellied Sapsucker" **

Travis couldn't help letting out a snort.

Katie hit him over the head.

**and stuff like that. I'd never even seen her wear a dress. It was hard to imagine her learning to be a socialite.**

**She sighed. "He thinks if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in."**

**"Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?"**

"Probably." Annabeth muttered.

Nico smirked, "This is the best blackmail ever!"

"Really Nico?' Percy smiled evilly. "I can tell _everyone _your secret."

"You wouldn't!"

"What secret?" Travis asked eagerly.

"Well this one time Nico-"

"Ok! Consider all the blackmail erased from my mind!"

**"Yes . . . but Percy, you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be so much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I want to talk-" She stopped abruptly.**

Annabeth's eyes narrowed, she really didn't like this girl.

Percy scooted away from his glaring best friend.

**"Something you want to talk about?" I asked. "You mean . . . so serious we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?"**

PJO Percy glanced at Annabeth, then quickly went back to reading at the glare he was receiving.

**She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together."**

"She likes you Perce." Bekandorf said.

"A lot." Lee finished.

Percy blushed, while Annabeth gave her infamous death glare.

Bekandorf and Lee immediately shut up.

**I could tell something was bothering her, but she put on a brave smile. The sunlight made her hair look like fire.**

Nico and Thalia chuckled.

Nico can't use this blackmail, but Thalia sure can!

**We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag.**

"Hey monsters get your own." Clarisse shouted, "Prissy is MY punching bag."

"Thanks Clarisse." Percy said dryly.

**"Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people."**

**She nodded. "And so . . . hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"**

Annabeth's eyes darkened.

Percy blushed, while Travis and Connor were cooing.

Even Mr. D smiled at Percy's embarrassment.

**"Oh. ..." I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows-slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um. ..."**

"Dad's not going to like that." Lee smiled.

**I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than . . . well, than some other girls I knew. **

PJO Percy looked everywhere, but Annabeth.

Annabeth glared at Seaweed Brains older version.

Silena was smiling, "Ohh I love a love triangle."

"Love triangle?"

"Yes it's now Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel."

"I don't like him/her!"

Percy and Annabeth were now having a glaring match.

"Oh young love." Thalia whispered to PJO Percy who blushed.

**I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt.**

**I'm not sure what I would have done next-but I was so distracted, I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a WUMP-WUMP-CRUNCH!**

_**Hey, boss, **_**a voice said in my head.**_** Nice car!**_

"Saved by BlackJack." Nico laughed.

Percy was silently thanking Blackjack.

**Blackjack the pegasus was an old friend of mine, so I tried not to get too annoyed by the craters he'd just put in the hood; but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked.**

"Yeah Pauls cool." Thalia smiled.

**"Blackjack," I sighed. "What are you-"**

**Then I saw who was riding on his back, and I knew my day was about to get a lot more complicated.**

"**Sup, Percy."**

"And it's." Travis said dramatically as Connor started a drum roll.

Katie hit them on the head.

**Charles Beckendorf, **

Bekandorf smiled a bit.

**senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies. **

Bekandorf smiled wider.

**He was huge, with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than me, and one of the camp's best armorsmiths. **

"Nope." Clarisse said, "He _is _the camps best armorsmiths."

Bekandorf smiled proudly while everyone nodded in agreement.

PJO Percy smiled sadly.

**He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the first harpy went flush.**

Everyone burst out laughing, even Dionysus.

"Prank idea!" Travis laughed.

"Don't. You. Dare." Katie said glaring.

Travis immediately shut up.

**Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bag was slung over his shoulder.**

**"Time?" I asked.**

"Sooo dramatic…"

**He nodded grimly.**

**A clump formed in my throat. I'd known this was coming. We'd been planning for it for weeks, but I'd half hoped it would never happen.**

**Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi."**

**"Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me . . . uh, I mean he mentioned you."**

"Smooth."

Annabeth tried not to feel jealous, it hadn't really happened yet.

**Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Good." **

"Way to inflate one's ego." Thalia muttered.

**She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now."**

"Pretty much." Bekandorf said grimly.

**"Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed.**

"You never change do you Charlie." Silena said.

**I looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom-"**

**"I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood."**

**I nodded my thanks. I figured this might be the last time Paul loaned me his car.**

"Of all the things to worry about." Pollux laughed.

**"Good luck." Rachel kissed me before I could even react. **

"She—WHAT!" Annabeth yelled.

"Ahh is Annie jealous." Travis asked making a kissy face.

"Shut up Travis."

Both of the Percy's scooted away from Annabeth.

**"Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."**

**My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me into the sky. I wondered what Rachel wanted to talk to me about, and whether I'd live long enough to find out.**

"You shouldn't think like that." Silena said.

**"So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth."**

Annabeth couldn't help, but growl.

**"Oh, gods," I muttered. "Don't even think about it."**

Annabeth glared at Percy.

**Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic.**

**It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The Princess Andromeda glowed on the horizon-a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. Then as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead-a dark-haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

"You just have this way to lighten the mood, don't you cuz?" Nico chuckled.

**Seeing the ship again twisted my gut into knots. I'd almost died twice on the Princess Andromeda. Now it was heading straight for New York.**

**"You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind.**

**I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. **

"Poor ships…" Silena said.

**I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it ever started.**

**"Blackjack," I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck."**

_**Gotcha, boss, **_**he said.**_** Man, I hate seeing that boat.**_

"Don't blame him." All the demi-gods muttered.

**Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the Princess Andromeda until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.**

Silena smiled.

"No don't do it Silena!" Percy yelled.

**"Don't wait for us," I told him.**

_**But, boss-**_

**"Trust me," I said. "We'll get out by ourselves."**

**Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship-dracaena snake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines-but we zipped by so fast, none of them raised the alarm. **

"Whose says zipped these days?" Pollux asked.

"Percy."

"Of course…"

**We shot down the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling queasy.**

_**Good luck, boss**_**, Blackjack said. **_**Don't let 'em turn you into horse meat!**_

"More like fish meat!" Nico laughed.

"I'm glad to know my cousins care sooo much." PJO Percy said sarcastically.

"You know you love us." Thalia laughed.

**With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I took my pen out of my pocket and uncapped it, and Riptide sprang to full size-three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk.**

**Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light-the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. **

Bekandorf and Silena blushed.

"Ahhh you guys get together in the future." Travis cooed fluttering his eye lashes.

Bekandorf put Travis in a wrestling hold.

**They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying, "Duh, you guys like each other!" **

Silena blushed.

"Hypocrite." Thalia muttered looking at Annabeth.

**Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him.**

Sileana and Bekandorf caught eachothers eyes and blushed.

Dionysus sighed, _Just what I need more PDA._

**"We'll make it back to camp," I promised.**

PJO Percy looked down, but regained his composure before anyone noticed.

**For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile.**

**"You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces."**

The Demi-gods smiled.

**Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practiced, but we froze when we heard noises above us.**

**"I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice-a telkhine. **

Dionysus and Chiron passed an uneasy glance.

**"The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!"**

Everyone chuckled warily.

**"Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" **

"I know right." Connor said.

"Yes and so is wine, but not all of us could be happy." Dionysus ranted.

**a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!"**

Chiron stiffened.

**"Bah, your brain isn't on board!"**

He let out a sigh of relief.

**They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade.**

**Finally we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room."**

Everyone was crossing there fingers.

**It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter.**

**Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice us. **

"Must have been a boy telkhine." Thalia said.

"Hey!"

**He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on duty.**

"You are brilliant Percy." Travis laughed, "I'm sure that was exactly what he was doing.

**I stepped forward, and he tensed, probably smelling something was wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide, and he exploded into dust.**

Percy smirked.

**"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." **

The demi-gods sighed.

**He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid-Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. Then he threw me another essential tool of demigod heroes-duct tape.**

Connor and Travis both nodded, "Very useful hero tool."

Katie glared at them, _If they ever duct tape her cabin closed Zeus help them when I kick there asses into next week._

**"Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines."**

**We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time we were drenched m sweat.**

**The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19° North, 71.90° West, making eighteen knots, **

"Wow Percy can be smart." Annabeth smiled.

"Hey!" Both Percy's said.

**which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn. This would be our only chance to stop it.**

**I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps-so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign.**

**I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?"**

"Too long." Bekandorf muttered.

**"Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least."**

Everyone was looking at eachother.

"Please please please please." Connor said crossing his fingers.

**Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we had about ten seconds.**

Dionysus tensed, this was not good….

**"I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point."**

**"Percy-"**

**"Wish me luck."**

_It should've been the other way around… _

Thalia put a hand on PJO Percy's shoulder.

**He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out without being spotted. But we were going to have to improvise.**

**"Good luck," he said.**

**I charged out the door.**

**A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than they could yelp. **

Everyone smiled a bit.

**I kept climbing-past another telkhine, who was so startled he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive-partly because his lunch box was cool, **

"Of course." Annabeth face palmed.

"That's Percy for you." Katie muttered.

**partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me rather than head toward the engine room.**

"Now that is a better reason."

**I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet, and stateroom doors had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience).**

Chiron chuckled.

**Back on my first visit to the Princess Andromeda, my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourists on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realize they were on a monster-infested ship. Now I didn't see any sign of tourists. I hated to think what had happened to them, but I kind of doubted they'd been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings.**

"You think of the worst things at the worst times." Annabeth said.

**I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped cold. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab.**

Travis smiled, "Your relative Perce?"

"Shut up!"

**I'm not talking "giant" like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. **

"Your relatives are tasty." Connor sighed.

**I'm talking giant like bigger than the fountain. **

"Woah!" Travis said, "All you can eat crab!"

Dionysus' eyes twitched, Train could be so annoying.

**The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body.**

Percy gulped, this was a monster to look forward too.

**If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits,**

Silenas nose wrinled.

**you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size. Its beady black eyes glared at me, and I could see intelligence in them-and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr. Crabby.**

"Isn't he from Sponge Bob?"

"No that's Mr. Crabs Travis."

"And you would know Annie."

"…"

**"FFFFfff,"it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like a garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week.**

Even the boys looked disgusted.

**Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving.**

**"Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so-"**

Percy laughed at his future self's antics.

**The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. I dove into a gift shop, plowing through a rack of T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr. Crabby turned and followed.**

**"There!" a voice said from a balcony above me. "Intruder!"**

**If I'd wanted to create a distraction, **

"You succeeded in that." Clarisse said.

**I'd succeeded, **

Everyone stifled there laughter at Clarisses enraged expression.

**but this was not where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow.**

**The demonic crustacean lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt.**

**I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing. Annabeth had told me **

"Of course." Percy mumbled while Annabeth smirked.

Pollux smiled those two were really blind.

**about a monster crab-something about Hercules crushing it under his foot? That wasn't going to work here. This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks.**

"Sonly slightly."

**Then a weird thought occurred to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, **

Percy's eyebrows raised, Paul must be really close to family if he came to Montauk with his mom.

**where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armor, right in the middle of their ugly bellies.**

**The only problem was getting to the ugly belly.**

"That's a pretty big problem.

**I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, concentrating on the water, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shops. The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHH!"**

"Like in those movies!" Silena said.

**Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the wet marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armored vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realized what was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor, let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside.**

"Not bad." Clarisse said.

Percy smirked.

"For a Prissy."

**The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap.**

**I didn't have time to admire my handiwork. I ran for the nearest stairs while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed. Riptide, being magic, would appear in my pocket sooner or later, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it.**

"Well that sucks." Lee said.

**In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae **

Chiron sucked in a breath.

**slithered across my path. From the waist up, they were women with green scaly skin, yellow eyes, and forked tongues. From the waist down, they had double snake trunks instead of legs.**

"Gross!" Silena said.

"Believe me." Percy said drily, "I know."

**They held spears and weighted nets, and I knew from experience they could use them.**

**"What issss thissss?" one said. "A prize for Kronossss!"**

**I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-snake, but in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship, like a YOU ARE HERE display. I ripped the model off the pedestal and hurled it at the first dracaena. The boat smacked her in the face and she went down with the ship**

**I jumped over her, grabbed her friend's spear, and swung her around. **

Percy smiled his older self had mad fighting skills.

**She slammed into the elevator, and I kept running toward the front of the ship.**

**"Get him!" she screamed.**

**Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell. I didn't care-as long as I got the monsters away from the engine room and gave Beckendorf more time.**

Bekandorf smiled at Percy.

Percy smiled back.

PJO Percy looked down.

**As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down. He looked like he'd just woken up from a nap. His armor was half on. He drew his sword and yelled, "Kronos!" but he sounded more scared than angry. He couldn't have been more than twelve-about the same age I was when I'd first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.**

Everyone even Mr. D saddened.

**That thought depressed me. This kid was getting brainwashed-trained to hate the gods and lash out because he'd been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy.**

Mr. D sighed, he wasn't heartless.

**No way was I going to hurt him. **

Ammabeth nodded in approval.

**I didn't need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand.**

**Then I did something I hadn't planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, **

Pretty much everyone face-palmed.

**but I couldn't help it.**

**"If you want to live," I told him, "get off this ship now. Tell the other demigods."**

Annabeth sighed what he did was stupid… and noble.

**Then I shoved him down the stairs and sent him tumbling to the next floor.**

**I kept climbing.**

**Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half brother Tyson, and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit.**

Percy and Annabeth grimaced.

**I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted.**

**All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad-our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We'd jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter mile away.**

Everyone nodded anxiously.

**I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. "You're late, Percy."**

Percy gulped.

**Luke **

Annabeth looked down while Percy gritted his teeth at her, _why does she like that traitor?_

**stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold.**

Mr. D and Chiron caught eachothers eyes.

_It can't be._

**"We've been expecting you for days." **

**At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful-the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. **

Everyones eyes widened, while Dionysus and Chiron sighed.

Their suspicions proved to be correct.

**The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. "Come, bow before me."**

"That will happen." Annabeth grumbled.

**"Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered.**

This time no one laughed, the atmosphere was too tense.

**Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. **

Bekandorf and Percy gulped.

**Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. **

Everyone sighed.

**Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so fast unless they'd known I was coming.**

**I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.**

Annabeth scowled, but held her tongue.

**A voice in my head said: **_**I have to fight him eventually. Why not now?**_

**According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make? **

"A whole lot." PJO Percy muttered answering his own question.

**I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I'd fought monsters and gods before.**

**As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was **_**Kronos**_**. **

Travis and Connor trembled.

Lukes betrayal hit them hard.

**I had to remember that.**

**"Come forward," he said. "If you dare."**

**The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it, and Riptide grew into a sword.**

**Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands-a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel. **

Annabeth gulped she heard what Kronos' scythe could do.

**Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged.**

**Time slowed down. I mean literally slowed down, because Kronos had that power. **

The demi-gods frowned.

**I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death.**

Annabeth clutched the table, _NO!_

**I tried to fight his magic. I concentrated on the sea around me-the source of my power. I'd gotten better at channeling it over the years, but now nothing seemed to happen.**

**I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. Dracaenae hissed with laughter.**

"They're not going to be laughing for long." Thalia muttered, "When they reform I'll destroy them for you Perce."

"Thanks cuz." PJO Percy said.

"I'll help." Nico growled, In truth he hated almost every monster except those that followed his dad.

_**Hey, ocean**_**, I pleaded. **_**Any day now would be good**_**.**

Katie chuckled warily.

**Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck. The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward.**

**I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face-Luke's face-a guy who was once my friend. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him.**

Annabeth smiled slightly.

**Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet.**

**I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator.**

"Speaking from experience Perce?" Nico asked weakly.

"Maybe…"

**Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful, my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: **_**Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body. **_**Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away.**

Pollux grimaced that sounded painful.

**I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that.**

Chiron's eyes narrowed.

**Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay."**

**My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was **_**his**_** head."**

"Too true," Travis sighed for once somber.

Katie slowly patted him on the back.

Travis smiled weakly at her.

**"A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus."**

**"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." **

**My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision.**

Everyone tensed.

**"And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face-Luke's face-seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"**

**He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!"**

PJO Percy sighed.

**A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth **

"Labyrinth?" Chiron asked.

"Long story…"

**last summer, and in return, the little punk had helped Kronos come back to life.**

**"Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told."**

**He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. **

Bekandorf grimaced.

**My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off.**

Silena held Bekandorf's hand and tried hard not to sob, this was her fault.

**"No!" I yelled.**

**Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me something. His watch. They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. **

The demi-gods eyes sparked with new hope.

**Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away.**

**"We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?"**

**"Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"**

**"He was going t**_**oward**_** the engine room, my lord."**

The demi-gods eyes immediately lit up.

**"How do you know that?"**

**"Er . . ." Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."**

Annabeth smiled at Bekandorf, he was smart.

**Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realized he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it.**

**Kronos hesitated.**

_**Buy the story**_**, I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand.**

Percy and PJO Percy winced.

**"Open his bag," Kronos ordered.**

"No." Silena murmured.

**One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.**

Mr. D had to admit these demi-gods were smart.

**I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger.**

Everyone cracked a smile.

**"Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?"**

**Ethan turned pale. "Um-"**

**"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"**

Bekandorf smirked.

**Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran.**

**I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: **_**How long?**_

**He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle**_**. Zero.**_

Everyones eyes widened.

**There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both.**

**Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks."**

**He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm-the Titan lord's symbol.**

Silena bit her lip.

**The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device . . . spy at camp."**

Everyone stiffened.

**Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies."**

**I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him, and even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would.**

Annabeth sighed at the hopelessness of the situation.

**Beckendorf mouthed one word: **_**Go**_**.**

"What no!" Percy yelled, "I wouldn't leave you!"

Bekandorf grimaced.

**I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him.**

Percy nodded.

**The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly-toward the watch on his right wrist.**

**I wanted to scream, **_**NO!**_

**Then down by the swimming pool, one of the dracaenae hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?"**

**Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch.**

"No!" Silena yelled.

Bekandorf held her tight.

**I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd of monsters and jumped off the side of the ship-toward the water a hundred feet below.**

Percy closed his eyes.

**I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take me far, far away-a hundred yards, two hundred yards.**

**Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. **_**The Princess Andromeda**_** blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything.**

_**Beckendorf**_**, I thought.**

Silena sobbed, while Bekandorf tried to comfort her still in shock about his own death.

**Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor toward the bottom of the sea.**

"I guess." Percy said taking a shaky breath, "I go next."

PJO Percy handed him the book.

* * *

><p><strong>AN I'm sooooooo sorry, I was planning on updating, but my dad looked through my computer, so I had to erase the file and start over.**

**I'm so sorry please review!**


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